The Difference
by anavihs
Summary: Ted Tonks can see the clear difference between Andromeda Black and all the other purebloods he knew.


**This is my first foray into any kind of Ted/Andromeda story, so PLEASE forgive me if there are any errors!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognise.**

* * *

The first time Ted Tonks laid his eyes on her, he knew she was different.

It was his First Year and he was walking quickly down the corridors with his best mate beside him. His robes were rumpled and his hair wasn't combed, but he was late for Potions and in a hurry, so he didn't particularly care.

As he cleared the corner, heading down the dungeons, he smacked, hard, into someone going in the opposite direction. He glanced up, an apology jumping to his lips, but froze. Bellatrix Black, the well known _queen_ of Hogwarts was sneering down at him, fury flaming in her dark eyes.

"You dare _touch_ me, you filthy little mudblood?" she screeched, her wand coming out to press against his chin.

"I-i'm sorry," Ted stuttered out, his eyes wide, fear a living being in his veins.

"Don't _speak_ to me!" she exclaimed, before shoving his aside, making him sprawl on the floor, his books tumbling from his arms. He took a moment to collect himself, watching as Justin Cresswell, his best mate, held his hand out to him.

"Blimey," Justin said, shaking his head, staring after Bellatrix, making her way down the corridor with two others trailing behind her. "Thank goodness you weren't _murdered_."

They were both muggle-born, and had grown up attending the same primary school. When they had seen each other at Diagon Alley, getting supplies, they had become fast friends.

"Yeah," was all he could say before turning back to his books. His eyes widened when he saw a girl already there, her brown hair falling over her face, picking them up. "It's fine!" he said, bending over to take them from her.

When she looked up, he was slightly taken aback. She looked just like her. The monster. Bellatrix Black. As she smiled softly, however, apologetically, he knew they had nothing in common. Glancing at her tie, he realised she was a Ravenclaw.

"I'm sorry about her," she said, pressing his parchment into his hands. "She's not in a good mood today."

"Is she _ever_?" he heard Justin say from behind him.

"Sometimes," the girl said with a shrug and turned to continue on to Potions.

"Are you related?" Ted blurted out and watched her turn, smiling.

"She's my sister," she said with a shrug, before holding her hand out to him. "I'm Andromeda Black."

* * *

They had not become _mates_, per say, but she would smile at him when they passed each other in corridors. In their Second Year, when her younger sister started Hogwarts and followed her around, he watched, amused, as she let her, including her into her group of friends.

"How is she related to that fiend?" Justin muttered, rubbing his shoulder from where Bellatrix and her group of cronies had shoved past him. Andromeda had rushed over, apologising, before going back to her sister who had quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Aren't they mudbloods, Andie?" he heard her sister ask and watched as Andromeda quickly shushed her, pushing her along.

* * *

When Third Year came and they were allowed to go to Hogsmeade, Ted watched, fascinated as Andromeda let down every pureblood who asked her to go.

"Do you think she'd go with me?" Justin asked, adjusting his robes to look slightly more presentable. Ted watched, envious, as he made his way over to her. When she sadly shook her head and apologised profusely, the pure relief he felt startled him somewhat.

* * *

"Do you ever brush your hair?" asked a voice behind him and he spun around. He was in the library, in the Transfiguration section, looking for a book to use for his essay. He saw Andromeda, smiling, behind him.

"Sometimes," he murmured, his hand moving to his hair, automatically.

"I think it's cute," she said with a smirk, handing him the book she had in her hands. When he looked down at the cover and saw it was just what he was searching for, he glanced up with a grin. She had already turned away, however, making her way out of the aisle.

* * *

In their Fourth Year, things took an interesting turn.

"Today, you will be assigned a partner for the rest of the year," Slughorn said, loudly, and Justin grinned over at him.

As he called names, Ted sighed, glancing around. Slughorn had a notorious soft spot for Justin, who was brilliant at Potions, and couldn't understand how he was friends with _Ted_, who was constantly knocking over the glass and crystal phials and causing general havoc in his classroom.

"Ted Tonks and Andromeda Black," he heard and froze.

"You lucky _bugger_," Justin said from next to him, making his way over to another table.

Ted could do nothing but stare as Andromeda took her seat next to him. When she turned a smile his way, he felt his lips twitch for a moment before he was staring once more.

"I'm going to ask you to stay away from all breakable things," she said, kindly, sending a small wink his way. "But you can add ingredients and stir."

His jaw was hanging open slightly, he knew, and so he didn't get a response out before Slughorn began speaking again.

* * *

"What's it like?" she asked and he jerked, adding more dried aconite than he was supposed to.

"What?" he asked, turning to see her smiling at him, her gaze fascinated.

"Living with muggles."

He stiffened a bit, well used to being taunted for having muggle parents, not usually _questioned_ on it.

"Fine," he said, shrugging.

"Do you have a fellytision?" she asked, leaning closer.

He frowned for a moment before he smirked.

"Yeah, we have a _television_."

"What's it like?" she asked again, leaning her chin in her hand, propped on the desk.

"It's just a box that shows-"

"Not the _television_," she said, sounding out the word, "Being muggle-born. Being exposed to a whole different world."

She seemed genuinely curious and her eyes were lit up in a way he had never seen before.

"When I first heard about being a wizard, I thought it was a joke. You know, that someone would jump out and tell me I was bonkers for believing it in the first place. Then I got to Hogwarts. It's incredible. Completely different to what I'm used to and I can't say that I mind," he shrugged.

Andromeda nodded, giving him a slightly wistful look before smiling, sadly, and returning to the Potions text she had been reading from.

* * *

"Will you pass the valerian, Ted?" Andromeda asked, and he nodded, lifting the sprig to hand to her.

"Can I ask you something, Andromeda?" he said, her name flowing out of her mouth. They had only recently started calling each other by their first names.

"Of course," she said, starting to cut up the sprig.

"What's it like being a pureblood?"

The cutting stopped and she seemed to freeze. She looked up at him from under her lashes as if gauging the sincerity of his question. His expression must have been harmless, because she said,

"Difficult," and went back to chopping.

"Care to expand on that?" he asked, amused.

She stopped chopping again and turned to him, looking slightly strained.

"My family, as well as everyone else I've known since the day I was born, believe that just because of the families we were born into, we're entitled to more. We deserve to be treated better. We're allowed to step on others and it's fine. So, it's been difficult," she said, her expression sad once more. He stared at her, realising this was the most she had ever said on the subject.

"If they have it their way, I'm going to marry another pureblood, start a family and spend the rest of my life despising someone for something they can't help but be." He watched as tears gathered in her eyes and he sorely wished he had never said anything.

"I'm sorry," he said and she gave him a startled look.

"I'm the one who should be apologising to _you_," she said, shaking her head before turning back to the chopping board.

* * *

For the rest of the year, they chatted in Potions, even waving at each other outside of the class.

In Fifth Year, it was a bit harder to do that. They had started brewing individual potions and worked alone. They found time to chat, once in a while, but had grown apart.

They were both prefects, but they had no patrols together. They didn't even get to talk in the meetings, since her sister was Head Girl and had insisted she sit next to her.

That was why it was so shocking when Andromeda sat next to him in the library.

"Hullo, Ted," she said, grinning at him.

"Hi," he said, shocked.

"May I join you?" she asked politely and his head bobbed, as if moving on its own.

* * *

"Dromeda," Ted said on a laugh, "You can't be serious."

"I am. I think they should be everyone's favourite as well."

"They're _disgusting_."

She gasped, giving him an offended look.

"They are _not_."

"Chocoballs are by far the most _vile_-"

"Cockroach Clusters," she said, grinning, propping her chin on the back of her hand.

"They don't _count_ as a sweet, Dromeda."

"They do," she said, primly, her lips twitching, "They're sold in a _sweet shop_ after all.

"I'll prove you wrong. I'm going to make you eat one," he said, threateningly, and listened to her laugh, savouring the sound.

"That's not going to happen."

"We should got together the next time we have a Hogsmeade weekend and I'll prove it to you then," he blurted, not even realising what had come out of his mouth before he said it.

When he did, his lips snapped shut, praying she didn't reject him. She stared at him for a moment, her expression serious before a smile bloomed on her face, enchanting him.

"Alright," she said, softly and his heart soared.

* * *

"Try it," he insisted, holding the Cockroach Cluster to her lips while she shook her head, pushing him away.

"Theodore Tonks, I swear to Merlin if you bring that near me one more time-"

Her laughing threat was cut off as he shoved it between her lips. She spat it out immediately, shocked at his gall before she laughed, pushing him gently.

"I can't believe you _did that_," she said, wiping her lips.

"I can't believe you thought I _wouldn't_," he said, waving to Justin as he passed by with a girl on his arm.

"That was _filthy_," she said, shaking her head, her nose scrunching.

He laughed as they continued walking down a more deserted part of Hogsmeade.

"I should have forced you to taste it," she said, giggling.

That was when he pulled her to a stop and kissed her.

* * *

They wrote each other all Summer, talking about their respective holidays and how they were going so far. She told him of her sister's wedding and he told her of his family's vacation to Guam.

When he saw her on Platform 9 3/4, he was grinning. His grin faltered as he saw the rest of her family. Bellatrix stood next to a tall, handsome young man speaking sternly to her. Her parents, heads lifted haughtily, sneering at the passing students, didn't say a word. He saw her little sister glancing over at where Bellatrix and Andromeda were as if she wanted to help but knew she shouldn't.

Frowning, he was about to make his way closer when Andromeda moved to kiss her parents on their cheeks. They didn't so much as smile, accepting the same from their youngest daughter, before turning to leave.

Ted followed her onto the train and was passing by a compartment when he heard a whisper,

"All for a _mudblood_, Andy? One of them _saw you_! And who have you been writing to all-"

"I remind you, Cissy. You _are_ younger than I am."

"I'm obviously not as _stupid_, if-" she cut off as she spotted Ted outside the compartment. Her face went white with fury and she turned, her mouth opening, obviously ready to berate him, when Andromeda smiled, making her way over to open the door.

"Hullo," she said, leaning up to press her lips to his. He smiled, deepening the kiss and ignoring her little sister as she brushed past them, livid.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that," she said, pulling back to look at him.

"I'm sorry if I'm causing any-"

"You're not," she said, shaking her head, pulling him into another kiss.

* * *

Their Sixth Year was blissful. They spent as much time together as possible. Now that her sister wasn't Head Girl, they requested their patrols to be together and spent the nights roaming the corridors, holding hands and laughing.

They met more often and more openly, their relationship more and more obvious.

He fell in love with her that year. Or at least he _realised_ he was in love with her. His head had finally caught up with his heart.

He ignored all the little signs that their love story was in trouble. He didn't look when he saw the purebloods sneer at their joined hands. He turned his head when he heard the vile taunts that were thrown their way.

So he was blindsided when that summer, he received a slightly crumpled, tear stained letter telling him they could no longer be together.

* * *

She didn't respond to any of his letters. He even tried to visit her, but didn't know where she lived. Heartbroken, he didn't even smile when he received his Head Boy badge.

When he arrived on the Platform, frantically searching for her, it was only moments before he spotted her. She stood with her parents, her usual smile missing from her face. She seemed miserable. He didn't want to say he was heartened to see her sad, but it certainly meant she wasn't over him.

He was about to make his way closer when they were joined by a tall, black haired man with a sharp looking beard on his face. He pulled her face up and pressed a kiss to her lips. Ted's heart shattered even as she pulled her face away, striding into the train, brushing past her family.

Unable to do anything else, he followed her, feeling as if she were tugging his heart along on a string. He found her in the prefect's compartment, her face buried in her hands while she sobbed.

His chest ached when he saw her. He could not nothing else but pull her into his arms.

She pulled away, startled, until she realised who it was,

"Ted," she said, relief filling her voice before she buried her face against his neck, clinging to him as she sobbed.

"What happened? I thought we were-"

"I'm engaged," she said, pulling away suddenly, wiping her eyes, obviously working to pull herself together. "My engagement has been announced," she added and flashed a sparkling ring on her left hand.

He didn't think it was possible, but the pain in his chest increased.

"How could you-"

"I didn't" she said, closing her eyes against the tears. "My parents did."

"Then tell them no!" he yelled, incensed. "Do you want this?"

"Of course not!" she said, as if he had slapped her. "I love _you_!"

Immediately, his eyes softened.

"Tell them no, Dromeda. Please," he said, gripping her hands in his, ignoring the large ring that cut into his palm.

"I can't," she said softly, sadly.

* * *

As it turned out, Andromeda had received the position of Head Girl. That made it much harder for him as he tried to get over her. They shared Head Quarters and he couldn't sleep knowing she was in the room next to his. Every passing day he watched her, her eyes no longer sparkling but dark, bags under her eyes and getting thinner than she had ever been.

He knew her little sister had been watching her as well, when she came to see him.

"Do something," she demanded and he shook his head, unwilling to feel more pain. "She loves you," she said, imploringly and Ted's heart shattered once more.

"Make her happy again," was her parting statement and he felt his resolve harden.

* * *

"Ted!" Andromeda said, startled as he barged into the Head's Office. "I-"

She was cut off as he crushed his lips to her, dragging her closer to him.

"I love you," he said, pulling back to stare at her. "I love you more than anything. And I know you love me as well."

"Ted-" she began, her heart breaking in her eyes, but he cut her off once more.

"Leave them." was all he said and her eyes widened.

"I can't-"

"You _can_," he said, brushing aside her excuses.

"Leave it all behind and marry me," he said, squeezing her hips in his hand.

She stared at him as if he were insane.

"You want to," he said, softly. He watched as her expression changed to one of longing.

"Please," he murmured and he watched as her resolve broke.

"When?" she whispered and he grinned, taking her lips in a kiss.

* * *

At the end of their Seventh Year, when they were to return to Platform 9 3/4, instead, they left for Hogsmeade to take the Knight Bus to his house. Before she left, her sister found her, hugging her tightly.

"Be happy," was all she said, clutching her close before releasing her and running in the opposite direction. He hugged Andromeda tight as she cried, knowing this was the only way.

His parents greeted her like a long lost daughter, his mother already planning their wedding.

He watched as she laughed, exploring his house with the curiosity of a toddler.

At times when she looked off, sadly, remembering, all he had to do was pull her into a hug and the look would disappear to be replaced with a smile.

* * *

That Summer, when they wed, and she received a letter informing her that her name had been blasted off the Black family tree, he expected tears. He expected her to wail and cry, regretting every moment.

Instead, she laughed.

She howled with laughter, ripping up the letter into shreds before turning to him, her laughter slowing to a stop.

"I love you, Ted," she said, smiling, pulling him down for a kiss.

"And I love you Dromeda Tonks."

She grinned against his lips before pulling him off to their marital bed.

* * *

**Thanks so much for reading! I know it was short and there wasn't much detail, but I just fell in love with this idea and wen where it took me. :)**


End file.
